


McClain Manor

by 001010



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Boarders, Botanist Holts, Friendship, Haunted Houses, Haunting, Human Krolia (Voltron), M/M, Muslim Character, Mystery, Neighbor Hunk, Refugee Keith and Krolia, Veteran Shiro (Voltron), and not until the end, boarding house, hijabi krolia, klance, muslim keith, though it's implied
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-15
Updated: 2019-05-08
Packaged: 2020-02-27 18:30:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18744679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/001010/pseuds/001010
Summary: Lance detests the idea of being forced to travel across the state to some town he'd never heard of to visit a grandmother he didn't know existed. He doesn't know about the mansion and the many boarders, or the mystery that unfolds there.





	McClain Manor

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so happy to write this. It was originally an original work, but I realized that I'd get no reads that way unless it was a fanfiction, but I think I like it better this way. I just really hope you guys enjoy this.

Lance stared out the window of the bus absentmindedly, watching as fields and hotels and beaches and happy families flashed past. His expression seemed to project how he felt, his RBF (resting bitch face) strong. School had ended not even a week ago, and he was being shipped off to a grandparent’s house, who he didn’t even know existed until then. He had to travel three hours by bus to Rhetaville in southwestern Florida. He hated everything about it. The only thing he was looking forward to was seeing Veronica, his older sister whom he hadn't spoken too since she stormed out years ago. There was still tension between her and their parents, but not enough to deter them from sending Lance to her. 

It was supposed to be a punishment, for his many wrong-doings. Smoking hash wasn’t even  _ that  _ bad. But, of course, his parents were beyond pissed, and claimed they needed time away from him. So here he was, on a Greyhound for three fucking hours.

He checked his watch again, for the eleventeenth time in the past ten minutes. Only mere minutes had passed since he last checked it. He sighed as music played through the cassette player he had. It was summer of ‘93, he’d be a senior next year, and shipped off to college the next year. He should be spending time with his friends, not his grandma in the middle of nowhere. 

 

After what seemed like days, though realistically was only half an hour passed, the bus lurched to a stop. He jumped awake, pulling away from his thoughts. He waited his turn to join the line of people exiting through the aisle, and stepped out onto the pavement. It felt good to stretch his legs after sitting for so long. 

He looked around until he spotted his sister, Veronica. She had cut her hair since she moved out, and was wearing much less makeup, if any, than she usually did, but other than that, she looked the exact same. It was comforting to see her; she appeared to be doing well.

Lance smiled as he approached her. She didn’t seem to notice him until he was right in front of her. Her face lit up and she immediately enveloped Lance in a hug. “You’ve gotten so tall,” she remarked.

“Ugh, you sound like our Aunties,” Lance groaned.

Veronica shrugged. “C’mon, let’s get out of here. I’ll take you to the house.”

Lance followed her to her car. It was an old, worn pick-up truck, but she seemed content with it. “It’s been so long…” she murmured as she helped Lance load his bags into the back seat. He climbed into the passenger seat as she started the engine. It took a second for it to turn over, the force of it vibrating the whole truck. “Tell me what all I’ve missed,” she said.

Lance shrugged. “Not much… pretty much the same as before.”

“Except you started smoking hash,” Veronica smirked. 

“Yeah… Mama and Dad told you about that?” 

Veronica nodded. “I don’t really think it’s as big a deal as they’re making it, but I don’t dare question them.”

The rest of the car ride was filled with silence, as Veronica made her way out of the busy town. She drove for about half an hour, when the road went from asphalt to gravel and the buildings and houses got sparcer and sparcer. 

She turned onto a concrete road, which seemed out of place considering the gravel making up the rest of the road, until Lance realized they were headed up the driveway of a house. The house began to materialize from around the tall trees, and Lance was shocked. 

It was huge, and painted a pastel blue/green color, with dark green shutters and black shingles that made up the roof. There was a long wooden wrap-around porch with columns the same blue/green color as the rest of the house. On the left side of the house was a circular tower. Despite its size, it seemed to be poorly kept. Everything was greying, and vines crept up the sides of it. The garden surrounding it, however, was beautiful, flowers and green shrubs arranged in a geometric pattern. 

Lance was so entranced by the home, he didn’t notice the car had parked until Veronica said, “Earth to Lance,” and waved a hand in front of his face. They had parked under a metal roof to the side of the house, which seemed both out of place and fitting. It seemed newer and more modern than the rest of the house, though just as old and beat-up. Several cars were parked under and around it.

“This is Gramma’s house?” Lance asked, still in awe.

Veronica nodded with a smile. “I know, I was like that, too, when I first saw it.” She hopped out of the car and grabbed one of Lance’s bags, before she made her way up the walkway. Lance grabbed his remaining things as he followed behind her, still gazing up at the house. As he looked into the murky glass of the windows, he saw a pale face, which disappeared as soon as he blinked. 

Kneeling in the garden was a man and a woman that Lance didn’t notice until he almost ran into them. Veronica stopped to snicker. 

“Lance, this is Sam and Colleen Holt. They’re boarders here,” she explained. The couple smiled up at him as the woman got to her feet and dusted her hands off on her apron. She offered out her hand, which Lance shook. 

“Pleasure to meet you,” Colleen said. 

“Uh, you too.”

Veronica resumed walking, and Lance hurried to keep up. “Boarders?” he asked.

“Yeah. When I moved in, there were so many extra rooms, and Gramma could barely support herself, let alone me, so I decided it’d be a good idea to rent out some of the rooms. You’ll meet them all eventually,” Veronica said. 

She opened the front door of the manor, which was a royal blue color. It was tacky, in Lance’s opinion, but he didn’t dare say anything. 

It seemed the inside was just as grand, though poorly kept, as the outside. It opened up into a large, open living room with ancient-looking furniture and paintings that lined the walls. One wall was made up entirely of shelves, which housed probably hundreds of books. Before he had a chance to really look around, a man appeared before him. He was funny-looking: Bright orange hair with a matching mustache, and a goofy grin to match.

“Ah, you must be Lance. I’m Coran Hieronymus Wimbleton Smyth, but you can call me Coran.” He offered out his hand, which Lance took reluctantly. Coran gave it a firm shake before releasing him. 

“Coran’s a professor at the local college I go to,” Veronica explained.

“Yes! I teach astrology. Say, Lance, do you believe in aliens?” Coran asked.

“Uhh… Sure?” 

“Great! We’ll have to have a discussion about it over tea sometime. I’d offer now, but I must get to a lecture. Ta-ta!” And with that, Coran left through the still open door.

Lance waited until Coran was out of earshot to speak. “He’s quite the, uh, character,” Lance offered.

“Yes. He’s trusty, though, and knows how to fix just about anything.” Veronica kept walking into the house. Beyond the living room was a long, wide hall, with two entrances on either side of it. “That’s the kitchen,” Veronica said, gesturing to the left, “And that’s the office. I think Matt and Katie are in there.”

“It’s Pidge!” a female voice called from the office.

Veronica rolled her eyes, her expression looking annoyed. “Yes, they’re there, alright.” She entered the office, Lance at her heels. 

Inside sat a brother and a sister; it was obvious they were related, as they had the same face and chestnut hair. They sat side by side at a computer, the screen black with green letters as the girl, Pidge, typed furiously. She kept typing, leaving Veronica and Lance to watch awkwardly, until she found a stopping point, and turned around to greet them.

“This is your brother?” Pidge asked. 

Veronica nodded. 

“In the flesh,” Lance replied. 

“Well, hi.” Pidge turned around and went right back to typing, her brother, Matt, smiling at Lance before doing the same. 

Veronica groaned quietly as she exited the office and reentered the main hall. At the end of it was a large, striking staircase, that split into two smaller ones on either side. A huge stained-glass window sat behind the staircase. It depicted something Lance couldn’t decipher, and Veronica gave him no time to even try to as she set a punishing pace up the stairs, and to the right staircase.

“There’s a dumbwaiter for Gramma, but we’re not supposed to use it,” Veronica explained.

The second floor was just as spacious as the first. Another wide hallway went forward, several doors lining the walls. A few of the doors are open, and Lance peers into them as he walks by. “Veronica?” He hears a voice in one of them call. He hears a bed creak as someone gets out of it, then approaches the doorway to greet them. He looks a little surprised to see Lance. The man is huge, with broad shoulders and jet black hair. The most striking thing about him, though, is the way his arm stops just below the shoulder.

“Oh, hey Shiro. This is my brother, Lance. I told you about him, right?” Veronica asks.

Shiro nods. Lance extends his right arm for Shiro to shake, then blushes deeply and snatches it back realizing Shiro was missing his right arm. 

Shiro chuckled as he extended his remaining arm. Lance shook it, clearly embarrassed. “Shiro’s a war veteran. He served valiantly,” Veronica doted on him. Now was Shiro’s turn to be embarrassed. 

He turned back into his room, and Lance and Veronica continued their walk down the hall. She made a sharp right, turning into the adjoining hall. To the right was another grand staircase, but Veronica walked right past it in favor of walking to the next corridor. She made another right, where a hallway identical to the first one he saw on the second floor was. Only one of the doors was open, and Lance could hear quiet mumbling coming from it. 

Veronica was silent as she approached the door, and Lance peeked in. A woman stood beside a bed, her forehead pressed against a small boy. The woman wore a hijab and clothing hid all of her body except for her face and hands. The boy had jet black hair and pale skin. The woman was talking to him in a hushed voice, not noticing the presence at the door.

Veronica cleared her throat, making the boy jump and the woman turn to look at them. She smiled once she saw them. 

“Veronica!” She turned her attention towards Lance. “And you must be Lane.” Her voice was thick with an accent, indicating that she was Eastern-European.

“Lance,” Lance corrected her. 

“This is where you’ll be staying,” Veronica told him. “All the rooms are full, so you’ll be rooming with Keith.”

Keith finally looked up to look at Lance, his eyes dark and cold as they bore into Lance’s soul. Lance shuddered, and the boy looked away. 

Veronica dropped Lance’s stuff on the floor next to a bed on one side of the room. There was an identical bed on the other side, along with a chest at the foot of the bed and a nightstand beside it. Keith sat on the one opposite Lance’s, his expression blank and his eyes downcast. 

Krolia approached Lance, who dropped his things beside the pile Veronica had made. “He’s a little quiet…” Krolia explained. “He’ll open up eventually, though.” And with that, Krolia left the room, walking to the next room and entering. Lance could hear the door shut behind her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to be honest. I did not proofread this, even though it REALLY needs it. I don't think I even finished this chapter, but I want to post it so bad. If you're interested in helping me write this and proofreading, comment and I'll hook you up with my email or social media or something. I'd really appreciate it, and maybe we could become friends as well. :-)

**Author's Note:**

> I love feedback so any would be nice. :)


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